Chapter 507: The Fire Qilin Treads Fire, Chen Loses Its Capital

The baleful aura of weapons soared into the heavens, churning a bone-deep chill through the four directions; every siege crossbow atop the city wall was trained on the great army ahead, and the defending soldiers were strung taut with nerves. In raw numbers, they held the advantage, and on their side stood a towering city and its mechanisms to aid them.

But the fame of this army was simply too great; its appearance here still pressed down on them with an enormous weight. The clash of weapons was ear-splitting, and once the army's battle momentum gathered and reinforced, the Dharma Aspect let out a dragon's cry and a tiger's roar.

A broad-shouldered, towering old man brandished the weapon in his hand, his long spear grim and deadly. Striking with the forms of Chen State's Mountain-Splitting Divine Spear, he took down the two men before him as easily as breathing—Yue Qianfeng and Duan Qingyu, two fierce generals of the Eighth Heaven among the Fire Qilin army, could not get past this single old man.

Yue Qianfeng roared at the top of his lungs and unleashed the ultimate art, Scarlet Dragon Shakes the Nine Provinces.

The Scarlet Dragon Dharma Aspect let out a long cry, and the temperature around it rose noticeably. The dragon's roar shook the void on either side as it drifted slowly forward; everyone watching saw the world around it begin to twist and warp.

Yue Qianfeng crossed his two weapons together; the Scarlet Dragon Dharma Aspect drifted slowly, winding and coiling up along his body, and at last let out wave after wave of desolate, deadly dragon-roars as it surged to kill the old man ahead.

"Good riddance!!!"

The old man swept his long spear aside and, in a single stroke, struck the middle of the Primeval Scarlet Dragon's Dharma Aspect; the dragon's roar that had nearly reached the very gates of heaven was cut short, severed clean in an instant.

A terrifying shuddering force turned Yue Qianfeng's face pale.

He opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood.

The old man said coolly: "A man of rough, unorthodox origins."

"Violent offense, empty guard. Looks bold and grand, but in truth the moves are used too late. A man like this can be called a divine general under heaven?"

Yue Qianfeng spat fresh blood, yet still stood his ground with a valor beyond ordinary men, the weapons in both hands pressing down. The brows of this man who, one hundred and eighty years ago, had been Chen State's foremost divine general, lifted slightly.

At the same time, the Southwestern King Duan Qingyu had already attacked as well.

Chen Tianqi caught the weapon in Duan Qingyu's hand with a single palm.

He lashed out a kick; the Dharma Aspect roared.

The overbearingly violent force kicked straight into Duan Qingyu's body.

A dignified divine general of the Eighth Heaven was sent tumbling backward faster than he had advanced, spitting fresh blood as he flew.

This time was different from the usual.

At the very least, it was no longer only Yue Qianfeng vomiting blood.

The Southwestern King Duan Qingyu spat even more than he did. After being knocked out of the battle line, Duan Qingyu felt that the treasured armor of the Southwest on his body had actually caved inward, and his cheek twitched.

If not for this suit of armor passed down from his ancestors, that kick just now would probably have smashed his spleen apart. Duan Qingyu spat several great mouthfuls of blood before the tightness in his chest eased a little.

But for the moment, his legs and feet went weak and limp, and he no longer had the strength to keep charging forward to fight.

He could only force down a medicinal pill with great difficulty, hold the flank nearby, and watch as Yue Qianfeng—also spitting fresh blood, looking utterly wretched—still brandished his two weapons and tangled with Chen Tianqi, the last glory of Chen State.

Even though he was no match, no matter how many times he coughed up blood, the will to fight remained.

Such tenacity left not only Chen Tianqi but even Duan Qingyu staring in astonishment.

In the end, he could only sigh in admiration.

No wonder the man was the Eleventh Divine General under heaven.

With this kind of qi and blood, anyone else would have spat it all out long ago and become a dried husk. Yet Yue Qianfeng was still this brave and martial. Back in the day, when he was ranked thirty-fourth on the Divine General List, he could fight Xiao Wuliang, ranked fifteenth, and he was beaten until he spat blood then too.

Now Yue Qianfeng's ranking on the Divine General List had long since surpassed both his former self and Xiao Wuliang, and now he fought a top-ten divine general under heaven—and continued to spit blood.

Truly strong.

Charging to the front of every battle, picking the hardest bones to gnaw, and still gnawing them through—this kind of work isn't something just any general can do.

Duan Qingyu was truly won over by Yue Qianfeng.

The way he spat blood wasn't something an ordinary man could spit out.

Today, as dusk was falling, they burst out from their last place of rest. The great army split into two streams: half followed Li Guanyi to Guanyi City, and the other half, led by Yue Qianfeng and Duan Qingyu, drove straight at Jiangzhou City.

They had only ten thousand heavy cavalry. To say ten thousand heavy cavalry could take the capital of a Central Plains great power was possible, but it demanded a swift battle and swift victory. Once the enemy settled into a defense, the city held abundant grain and young able-bodied men; even by attrition alone, they could hold out to the death.

Yue Qianfeng and Duan Qingyu had planned a high-speed surprise assault.

But this stratagem was seen through and countered by the enemy's commanding general.

Yue Qianfeng crossed his two weapons and blocked a vicious strike from the old general. His vision went black, the flesh between thumb and forefinger of both hands trembled, nearly splitting open to bleed, and he thought in his heart: What tremendous strength!

That old man who looked only sixty or seventy was precisely the hero of the stories Yue Qianfeng had heard as a child—thirty-six riders opening the Western Regions, personally leading cavalry to charge great armies, deeds upon deeds, all familiar to the ear. The grandson of Chen Wu Di, and the foremost divine general of one hundred and eighty years ago.

He was the hero of Yue Qianfeng's childhood stories, the idol of his youth.

Now, he was his enemy.

Yet this old general's Wu Gong was even stronger than Yue Qianfeng had anticipated. Tempered and refined over more than a hundred years, the moment their weapons met, it gave Yue Qianfeng and Duan Qingyu a thorough taste of suffering.

After another stretch of exchanging blows, Yue Qianfeng gradually felt he could barely hold on.

Duan Qingyu spurred his horse to help, but even the two of them together were no match for this Chen Tianqi. Suddenly a treacherous, cold strike came in; Yue Qianfeng barely had time to cross his two weapons in a guard before him, and that long spear thrust forward.

The Chen family's Mountain-Crushing.

What he employed was precisely the Six Emptinesses Four Unions Wu Gong.

That momentum of layered Qianshan upon Qianshan, endless and unbroken, burst forth in a surging torrent. In this single move, his attainment even surpassed that of the Divine Martial Wang Chen Fubi. Yue Qianfeng had crossed swords with Xiao Wuliang more than once, and was intimately familiar with this strike, yet never could he have imagined that when this old man thrust his spear, it would contain thirty-three variations.

From the utmost yang to the utmost yin, and from within the utmost yin, the utmost yang and utmost hardness were born.

The endless transformations could be called the very pinnacle of spear-skill.

If one did not consider that Chen Tianqi's vitality was gradually fading and his body's qi and blood insufficient, forcing him to make up for it with technique, then his methods, moves, and Wu Gong could be slotted into the top five divine generals under heaven with the greatest of ease, more than enough.

Yue Qianfeng could not resist. He felt a sudden sickening wrench in his chest and belly, opened his mouth and spat out a great mouthful of fresh blood, and the weapons in his hands nearly fell. Chen Tianqi's long spear tapped once against those two weapons, then sprang up like the opening of a dance, thrusting straight toward Yue Qianfeng's throat.

Duan Qingyu bellowed: "General Yue, look out!!!"

Yue Qianfeng's eyes nearly split from their sockets. He threw himself backward to evade, crossing both arms to block this vicious strike with his bare arms.

Not the slightest ripple stirred in Chen Tianqi's gaze.

His life had already been very long; he had already lived through a great many things.

Many victories, many defeats.

But at this moment, a ripple suddenly rose in Chen Tianqi's calm, indifferent eyes; his expression changed. The right hand gripping the long spear suddenly exerted force, the spear like a dragon's fang keened and trembled, and he instantly withdrew.

He spun, sweeping horizontally; the long spear lashed out sideways in the Chen family's long-spear technique.

A sharp crack exploded—

Chen Tianqi sensed an explosive burst of tremendous force, the momentum of the long spear faltering for an instant; in that tiny gap, Yue Qianfeng had already seized the moment to pull back, dodging that lethal strike, gasping for breath.

Chen Tianqi slowly withdrew the weapon in his hand, looked at the light arrow that had fallen nearby, and said:

"The Xue family's Cloud-Shattering Heaven-Shaking Bow."

"So it is the Qin Wang himself who has arrived. My apologies for failing to greet you from afar."

The old general's voice rang out as a large contingent of heavy cavalry from the army arrived; the man at their head wore armor, his hair bound with a jade hairpin, gripping a war bow in his hand, brows raised, aura fierce and violent, his sleeves billowing like rolling waves.

Behind him marched a host of thousands of troops and ten thousand horses.

It was Li Guanyi.

After Li Guanyi left Yicheng, he traveled at great speed. Strategically, the forces were split into two routes: he himself went to Yicheng personally, while Jiangzhou City was to be sealed off by General Yue Qianfeng and Duan Qingyu. The objective was not to capture this great city, the imperial capital of Chen.

Rather, it was to buy time, to disrupt Chen Tianqi's tactical preparations, and to secure enough time for Li Guanyi to arrive in person.

In fact, Yue Qianfeng and Duan Qingyu accomplished this objective admirably.

Holding out against one of the former Ten Divine Generals until Li Guanyi arrived.

Although they did look rather disheveled.

Li Guanyi said: "Big Brother Yue, General Duan, are you unharmed?!"

With Li Guanyi's arrival, his qi drawing attention, Chen Tianqi's focus shifted away from the two Eighth Heaven war generals over there and settled on Li Guanyi. Yue Qianfeng managed to escape the danger zone, and upon hearing the words, he only laughed heartily: "Hahaha, what harm could befall your Big Brother Yue?!"

"Just now? Hah, just now I was merely toying with this old fellow."

"How could a pile of old bones like him possibly be our match?!"

Yue Qianfeng's bold and open manner of speech remained unchanged.

If he weren't currently spitting blood from his mouth as he spoke, it would have been far more convincing.

Li Guanyi nodded and said: "Big Brother Yue is valiant; such a strategy could only be borne by Big Brother Yue."

Yue Qianfeng laughed heartily.

The Qin Wang raised his gaze to look at the old man before him, able to sense the latter's terrifying aura of the Ninth Heaven, that martial bearing of one who had likewise experienced countless battles, having honed his martial arts to the realm of perfection.

Chen Tianqi also looked at Li Guanyi.

He too could sense the aura upon this sovereign, blazing like fire, a power nearly approaching the legends of the martial Dao, and youthful vitality. This should have been the pillar of Great Chen, should have been this nation's hope, the sharpest sword of this noble house.

But at this moment, he gripped a long spear, gripped a sword, and brought with him a host of thousands of troops and ten thousand horses.

To bring ruin to this nation.

Even for an old man who had already experienced much, at this moment he still felt a certain subtle, ironic sense of the impermanence of worldly affairs. Chen Tianqi said: "This old man has heard of you, and roughly knows your story."

"The matters of the past, the impermanence of worldly affairs — one can only say, what a pity, what a lament."

"But since things have come to this, and the Qin Wang has brought his army to the city's walls, then right and wrong need no longer be spoken of. Here today, there is only the mortal enemy who has come to attack Great Chen — the Qin Wang — and the warriors of my Great Chen!"

"The Qin Wang surely does not think that a mere thirteen or fourteen thousand heavy cavalry alone can take the capital of my Great Chen!"

Jiangzhou City was, after all, the capital of a nation.

No matter what, it possessed solid and towering walls, the most advanced defensive mechanisms of the age, and its garrison was not much smaller than the attacking force. Military strategy says: surround with ten times the force — at least tenfold superiority is required to lay siege.

Yet the Qin Wang said: "Under ordinary circumstances, a cavalry force of just over ten thousand could certainly not take a great city, but today is different."

"Why is it different?"

"Because today, the one leading this army is me."

Chen Tianqi was briefly stunned, then burst into loud laughter and said: "Hahaha, good, what arrogance, what a madman! You mean to say that you alone can make up for a tenfold difference in numbers?!"

"Li Wanli truly has a son like you."

"Good, good!"

"Then let us try!"

Chen Tianqi let out a long cry, gripped his weapon and charged forward. Li Guanyi gripped the Tiger-Roaring Heaven-Shaking War-Halberd, and the two Ninth Heaven war generals clashed here. Yet in only four or five exchanges, Chen Tianqi already felt his palms going numb — he was no match.

If one spoke of pure Wu Gong, Chen Tianqi was in no way inferior to this Qin Wang, but this junior's qi and blood were simply too terrifying, his physique as mighty as a dragon. Chen Tianqi's qi channels were long-enduring and his attainments in Wu Gong exceedingly high, yet he was ultimately already in his declining years.

Over two hundred years old — even the Sword Madman would have to undergo dissolution.

He too had only a little vital essence remaining.

He had already long secured illustrious renown in the annals of history, a divine general whose judgment was final and sealed. Yet now, for the sake of his descendants, he had no choice but to stake his life, to gamble everything he had.

Yet after only a few exchanges, Chen Tianqi turned and retreated.

Li Guanyi, however, was in no hurry to pursue.

Pursue?

Li Guanyi was no longer in the mindset of a mere general or commander.

At this moment he raised his hand, and the auras of these ten-thousand-plus heavy cavalry all surged upward, converging into a military formation, vast and overwhelming, their battle intent like a rainbow, layering upon layer upon layer as it descended to empower him.

The Red Long Baihu Dharma Phase manifested simultaneously.

That aura of a generation's overlord suddenly surged upward, carrying a sense of looking down upon all with domineering might. Chen Tianqi turned and saw the Qin Wang gazing at him with an indifferent expression — clearly a level look, yet at this moment he faintly sensed something akin to being regarded as nothing more than chickens and tiles.

A sovereign has his own bearing, and a sovereign has his own methods.

If the enemy retreats, then crush them as you go!

Otherwise, what use is a great army?

A strike condensed from the baleful aura of the military formation was unleashed; the black-and-red overlord aura exploded outward, Taigu Chilong and White Tiger, the dragon's cry and the tiger's roar tearing forward. Chen Tianqi exerted his full strength, combining his military formation and the fortune of Jiangzhou City.

Only just barely managed to block this strike.

Even so, he gasped for breath, his face deathly pale, no longer possessing the composure he had shown earlier when he had beaten Yue Qianfeng and Duan Qingyu to coughing up fresh blood. He could only struggle to control his essence, qi, and spirit, to prevent his vital essence from leaking out and bringing death upon him.

But just at this moment, the Qin Wang slightly raised his gaze.

The Tiger-Roaring Heaven-Shaking War-Halberd in his hand was raised once more; that domineering, world-sundering sovereign's majesty surged upward again. Clearly, it was another strike of the same domineering nature as the one just before.

Chen Tianqi's expression turned somewhat unsightly.

For an ordinary person, even a Grandmaster, there is a limit to what the meridians and bones can bear. Even if one's qi channels are long-enduring and unbroken, meridians and body have their upper limits; after unleashing a strike, one always needs the span of several breaths to let the body gradually recover.

Then he could continue to unleash.

If he unleashed continuously, not even a divine general burdened with the martial aura of an army formation—already under immense strain and pressure—could endure it; even an ordinary martial artist fighting alone would collapse, suffering internal injuries and snapped meridians.

What did this kid eat to grow up like this?

What kind of physique is this!?

Wasn't the overlord from eight hundred years ago just like this?

Chen Tianqi swallowed the blood in his mouth, his hair standing on end, standing firm before his nation—even if he died here, he would not retreat a single step. At that moment, Li Guanyi, who had been gathering momentum, sensed an abnormal flow in Chen's national fortune, and paused slightly.

He lifted his gaze and saw a figure appear atop the city wall.

White hair, clad in armor, eyes cold and disdainful.

The void beside him rippled; the phantoms of the Poisonous Dragon and Qiongqi followed, exuding a chilling, malevolent aura. Around him, Chen's already crumbling national energy coiled like threads of light.

Such a sight, such bearing—only one person could be this.

Li Guanyi said: "Chen Dingye."

The Chen Huang—his enemy.

Family grudge, national hatred.

Chen Dingye looked at Li Guanyi, lips slightly parted, as if about to speak.

In such a situation, what were their roles now—once sovereign and minister?

Were they enemies? Were they those who could have been sovereign and minister but missed their chance? Was it unattainable longing? Was it vengeance and blood hatred, yet knowing that after a thousand years, history's brush would cut like a blade—how could one ever tell this story?

Chen Dingye felt a faint pang of sorrow within.

But Li Guanyi felt not the slightest hesitation.

Even a trace of hesitation would be disrespect toward himself.

His strike speed even increased.

"Die!!!!!"

The brutal technique, unleashed after gathering momentum, slashed violently toward Chen Dingye's head. Black-red martial aura tore through the sea of clouds and crashed down; only after this strike did a thunderous boom finally follow.

The entire array atop the city wall was ripped apart.

Chen Dingye used Chen's national fortune as his weapon, relying on the entire capital city of Jiangzhou, barely blocking this blow. Even so, his phantom trembled violently, blood seeping from his lips.

What would happen when a nation's sovereign, before his capital, wielding the Son of Heaven's aura and national fortune, clashed with a divine general whose strength ranked second in the world and led a vast army?

The Wu Wang and Jiang Wanxiang had already shown the example.

Although Li Guanyi's current force of ten thousand heavy cavalry could not compare to the Wu Wang's thirty thousand troops, who had abandoned all life and escape routes, Chen Dingye and Chen's territory could not match the former Ying nation's national fortune either.

Chen Dingye's white hair lifted, blood trailing from his lips. The Poisonous Dragon coughed violently, blood at its mouth, yet laughed wildly:

"Hahahaha! You still brought too few troops, Li Guanyi! With less than twenty thousand cavalry, you cannot kill me under the protection of Great Chen's national fortune."

"Yue Pengwu is strong, but still a thousand li away. Great Chen may be riddled with wounds, but it has not yet collapsed entirely."

"If you had two hundred thousand, it would be enough, wouldn't it?"

Li Guanyi stared at the Chen Huang and said: "But killing you? It's enough."

Chen Dingye stared at him, wild white hair flying, laughing: "Yes—but Qin Wang, do you think I'd fight you directly? Who in the world doesn't know Qin Wang's methods? Why would I ever face you head-on?"

Li Guanyi's gaze turned icy as he watched him.

Chen Dingye had just taken Li Guanyi's strike at the cost of his own national fortune being shattered. In that moment, Chen Tianqi had already retreated into the city. Chen Dingye looked at Li Guanyi, filled with regret, and said: "I had hoped to drink with you, reminisce, and buy time."

"But since Qin Wang is so eager, then so be it."

"I'll give you a choice."

"You may choose to keep killing me—but on the other end of this choice lies..."

Before the words finished, the Break-Cloud Heavenly Bow trembled and roared.

Chen Dingye had already retreated backward, falling down. He spread his arms, toppling toward the rear of the wall, white hair flying, smiling: "Your vision of Great Chen's capital."

"What?!"

The Qin Wang gripped his weapon. The next instant, accompanied by a peculiar sound, he froze, slowly lifting his head. His ink-black pupils reflected the entire city of Jiangzhou—but the next moment, blazing fire surged into the heavens.

Arson. Burning the city.

Burning his own capital.

Chen Dingye's near-maniacal laughter exploded.

Li Guanyi's eyes nearly burst from rage. Even though he harbored a blood feud so deep he wished to flay Chen Dingye alive, he had no other choice now—he gathered his military might. The ancient Crimson Dragon's phantom rose, charging into the city.

He grabbed the small cat on his shoulder and shouted: "Fire Qilin!!!"

With a flick of his wrist, the Fire Qilin shot like a streak of light into the heavens.

The Fire Qilin usually loved eating fine fruits, but now it showed no hesitation. As the people trembled in fear, suddenly a deep roar echoed—though it was the bellow of a mighty beast, it instantly calmed their hearts.

The Fire Qilin soared into the sky and activated its divine beast auspicious trait—

It wielded its power over fire and flame.

Not all auspicious beings were like the Crimson Dragon; indeed, all auspicious beings differed from the Crimson Dragon. Even Bai Hu possessed mastery over warfare. As the Fire Qilin's power manifested, the flames across the city halted instantly.

Then, reversing heaven and earth, they surged toward the Fire Qilin in the sky.

Countless streams of flame rose from the earth, flying upward. All the people of Jiangzhou knew what this sight meant—they realized they had just narrowly escaped death. Watching the Fire Qilin tread upon fire, they whispered after a long silence:

"Fire Qilin..."

"Is it Qin Wang?!!!"

"Qin Wang has come! Qin Wang!"

The prior terror, the despair when the entire city seemed about to ignite, and the awe of the Fire Qilin's arrival, quelling the disaster, as millions of flames surged like earthbound meteors into the heavens—all erupted in an instant.

The entire city's hearts were won in a single moment.

Li Guanyi gasped heavily, his spirit taut—then relaxed. But Chen Dingye was gone. Chen Dingye sat atop his horse, the white-haired sovereign watching this scene, the Fire Qilin treading fire, his gaze cold and profound.

Chen Tianqi stared blankly at this scene, looked at Chen Dingye, and said angrily:

"Burning the city to harm the people, and then using it to buy time—would you not know there is a Fire Qilin here?"

"Chen Dingye, are you going to hand the hearts of the people over to that Qin Wang?"

Chen Dingye said: "No, I just felt it was all too dull."

Chen Tianqi was caught off guard: "What?"

Chen Dingye said calmly: "We can no longer defeat Qin Wang, and Qin Wang himself is already enough to rally the people's hearts. Even if we exhaust every means—hold the city, break the enemy, stir up the populace—there is no use."

"We cannot win, yet we would still drag Jiangzhou down with us and sacrifice the lives of at least several hundred thousand common folk."

"When you cannot win yourself, yet spare no cost to make your opponent lose—that is too graceless, too ugly a sight, Ancestor."

Chen Tianqi looked at this sovereign and felt as though he no longer recognized him.

Chen Dingye said calmly: "If one is already defeated, to go down together with the enemy is nothing but the conduct of a street-corner gambler."

"It is not the bearing of a sovereign."

"Even for a sovereign as absurd as I, to use the common folk of the capital as weapons to slow Qin Wang's march—I could not bring myself to do it. Let the people of the whole city resent me if they will, but at least at this moment, let me do one thing for them."

The white-haired sovereign looked upon Jiangzhou, his eyes calm:

"I shall help them merge more swiftly into Qin Wang's realm."

"To spare them from war, to spare them from death and wounds, so that they may know peace."

"Is this not also the way of a sovereign?"

Chen Tianqi was silent for a long while. He could neither agree nor refute; he merely held his tongue for a long time, wondering what manner of means Dantai Xianming of those years had possessed, to have shaped such a man into such a bearing.

He only said: "Then you…"

Chen Dingye said: "I have said it—I will keep fighting to the very end."

"Great Chen still has its gates."

Chen Dingye led the remaining army, abandoned Jiangzhou, and set out northward.

There lay the final stretch of territory, the final great army and elite troops.

Zhenbei Pass.

And at the same time, Qin Wang, who had extinguished the flames that filled the city.

Amid the cheers of the common folk and their lining of the road to welcome him, stepped into the palace of the State of Chen.

?? Begging for monthly tickets, friends~